The Baker softball team spent the extended weekend facing three Heart opponents and picking up five wins. The Wildcats swept both Peru State and Graceland before finishing the weekend with a split against Central Methodist on Monday.

Baker defeated Peru State 3-2 in game one and 3-1 in game two. Sophomore Olivia Brees pitched all eight innings in game one, striking out 15 batters. Junior Teagan Louthan pitched in game two, striking out four batters and allowing five hits.

Junior Stephanie Cardona earned one run in each game against Peru State, both being home runs.

The Wildcats faced Graceland on Thursday, defeating the Yellowjackets 8-0 and 8-6. Brees pitched in game one, recording a no-hitter, striking out 12 batters.

Two Wildcats hit home runs in the first game. Cardona hit one home run, lifting her home run total for the weekend to three, and freshman Hannah Flynn hit one.

In game two against Graceland, freshman Riley Swickard, freshman Madison Allen, and sophomore Hannah Tolliver each had two runs. Freshman Kira Eddy and freshman Peyton Maulbeck had one run each.

The Wildcats returned to Cavaness Field Monday afternoon to take on the Central Methodist Eagles in hopes of sweeping all three Heart opponents in one weekend.

The Wildcats battled it out with the Eagles in game one with a 3-2 win after 10 innings. Brees pitched the entirety of game one and saw 35 batters. Brees earned five strikeouts and gave up eight hits in those 10 innings.

Sophomore Caitlin Hardgrove scored the winning run for the Wildcats in game one off of a well-placed bunt by freshman Jazzmine Thrope.

In game two, Eagles pitcher Alexis Kohrs held the Wildcats to just three hits in four innings and allowed no runs for the ‘Cats.

The Eagles started off the game with four runs in the first, followed by two runs in the second and again in the third inning. CMU added one more run in the fifth inning, and the Wildcats weren’t able to make it up, falling to the Eagles 9-0 after five innings.

Two Wildcats earned Heart of America Athletic Conference weekly awards due to their performances over the weekend. Brees earned Heart Pitcher of the Week and Cardona earned Heart Player of the Week.

After a successful 5-1 run in four days, the Wildcats will now travel to Iowa, where they will face Grand View University on April 19 and William Penn University on April 20.

The Wildcats now sit in sixth in the Heart standings with a 13-11 conference record and an overall record of 20-17.